hummingwolf | (no subject)

Upon re-reading some examples of my recent prose, both here and in other fora, I have noticed somewhat to my chagrin that when I am suffering from a lack of opportunities to enjoy a quantity of sleep sufficient to restore me to my preferred state of alertness and vivacity, my writing often becomes overburdened with verbosity, with circumlocutions, with unneeded phrases and clauses which, while perhaps not always adhering to the accepted rules of standard English grammar, do tend to generate a sort of ponderous impressiveness which is reminiscent of the effect produced by an inordinate number of the reports, essays, and critiques that I was expected to indite at university (as well as in my earlier years in the system of public education) and which, as with the dubious impressiveness achieved in those earlier writings, tends to dissipate upon the instant one realizes that I have, in fact, said very little which could reasonably be claimed to have any significance at all.

Put another way: I get wordy when I'm tired.

How many articles in academic journals can be explained by sleep-deprivation, I wonder?

The first sentence of this post was much too easy for me to write. Somebody please help me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

By way of helping you, let me caution you against revealing any more of my writing secrets.If you are paid by the word, words count.If only it was time and a half for big words.

Ah, so that's how it's done! I'll try not to reveal any more of those writing secrets in the future, though my judgment may not be up to the task of concealment if I'm perpetually sleep-deprived...